20/02/2026
𝐖𝐞 𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.
I want to express my deep gratitude to everyone involved in bringing this beautiful festival last weekend to life. With the NZ team we welcomed the crew from the Lovefest Australia movement back again and co-create something special together in the Tui tree field.
If I try to pin down any particular moments, it all blurs into one incredible unfolding experience with so many touching layers and all feelings involved.
One that stands out is the Cafe, a multigenerational team of those returning from the gathering we held two weeks prior called SoulHum. Several of the young people who attended that event stepped into the festival practicing new ways of communicating, sharing what was really going on for them, and showing up in authenticity by creating a SoulHum Cafe together.
Jason Horton and Fox Horton brought together a space for the Café. Together they co-created an inviting, warm environment where everyone could come to receive food, cacao, and nourishment.
This festival carried depth. Starting the evening with an incredible life set with Tim Firkin, Amber O'Brien and the Kohatu Band, followed by Theo Feint with a high energy high quality Psy set. Joydah Mae brought her healing magic with the power of her Voice Activation, Taylor Sol added his life concert to settle us all after hours of dancing. Karma Karuna Saraswati showed up as local legend in many offers including the Kirtan Collective with Amber O'Brien together. I want to go on and on and tell you all about the gifts that each and everyone brought and I sense some of you will not read it all.
The DJs filled the space with movement, music, and aliveness. The Kid Zone was especially beautiful this year. Around 14 young people got to play freely, held by parents and adults who stepped in to ensure their experience was joyful and held with care.
As a festival organiser, I found myself many times at the edge of what it means to hold a space of this size. Again and again, I was ask to surrender and lean into my team. A big thank you to Mina Smith, Madison Biggs, Natalie Wilkinson, Jason Horton, Joe Figliano - The Power Within, Kat Tree and all those who empowered this mahi by showing up and trusting the process. Ah and the sound, thank you Theo Feint and Nick Moose for your careful and steady listening, such good sound.
Looking ahead, our next event in the Tui tree field is the five-day immersion: Embodied Intimacy | Feel - Move - Relate | In Golden Bay - 5 Day Journey . Now in its ninth round. It brings people together in community, authenticity, and spaciousness to feel, heal, and move.
Across Lovefest, SoulHum, and Embodied Intimacy, its all about remember something essential about village living. Phones are left in tents, and people become available for real connection.
During this festival, I witnessed so much genuine meeting within workshops, through music, and in the in-between moments.
This is why I offer what I offer: to create windows of remembering how to feel, reconnect with our capacity for connection, build social skills, and find our people. Our tribe. New friendships. Community coming back to life.
I want to thank everyone that offered into Lovefest Golden Bay NZ. Thank you for bringing your gifts and magic.
Andre, Debora O'Callaghan, Jane Anthony, Alicia Kamholtz, Aralyn Doiron, Ewa Szczepaniak - Portal Świadomości, Wojciech Zawadzki, Gary Wohlman, Nicola Woods, Sarah Manson.
The music is been created by Taylor Sol and the below Video is made by Petra - petra.obrovska@gmail.com. Thank you for creating a capture of the weekend.
